Whether they're trying to remember routines, communicate clearly, or wait their turn for a toy, young children are problem solving and learning every day. If your child is struggling with one problem in particular, one of these excellent apps may help. Though all the apps in this list were originally designed to help kids with special needs, they're great for helping all children learn to navigate the complexities of their world.
For one new mom in England, the perfect mother's helper is not a nanny, but a very special dog.
As the The Huffington Post reports, Cheryl Alexander's service dog, Orca, has rolled with the punches since Alexander recently became a mom. Because of her nerve disease, reflex neurovascular dystrophy, simple tasks like changing diapers are sometimes extremely painful. That's where Orca comes in — she'll get the changing pad, the wipes, and a new diaper; help remove the baby's onesie; and even take the dirty diaper to the trash!
The story of Zaiden Beattie will melt your heart! As reported by The Huffington Post, Zaiden was just 2 and a half when he was diagnosed with a very rare progressive and genetic disorder called ataxia-telangiectasia, which will eventually land him in a wheelchair. But with the help of a miniature horse named Zoe, owned by a horse trainer who just happens to be Beattie's mom, and the support of the community in Anchorage, AK, Beattie, now 4, is able to walk, go to school, and do more things than anyone initially thought possible.
Do you know anyone who has been helped by a service animal?
Tuesday was a remarkable day for the Scholl family — their 5-year-old daughter, Jayde, heard sound for the very first time! Jade underwent surgery to have a cochlear implant attached directly to her auditory nerve, where it is now picking up sound waves her ears can't.
As The Huffington Post reports, Jayde was born deaf and was abandoned as a baby in China. Serendipitously, her adoptive mother, Jackie Scholl, is a doctor of audiology, but no one knew that Jayde was deaf when she was adopted.
Jayde's joyful reaction to hearing her mom's voice for the first time is captured in this video; watch it and enjoy!
Having a child with special needs sets you apart from other mothers. It shouldn't, but it does. It’s like being part of a club you didn't ask to join — one where non-members don’t always understand what happens at the meetings.
Moms who are in the club truly wish those outside it could understand. Here's what they wish other moms knew, as explained by Circle of Moms members whose kids' special conditions run the gamut from autism to being wheelchair bound.
My oldest son has Asperger’s syndrome, often called high-functioning autism. He’s a lot of things — bright, funny, confounding, and analytical — but to some people he will never be autistic. It’s a matter of language. Person first language, to be exact.
Person first language is the reason why it’s so taboo to call someone with mental retardation "retarded." It’s the reason we describe someone as having mental illnesses instead of as mentally ill, which is more reductive. In short, person first language says the person comes first, not the disability.
When Does the Person Come First?
Some Circle of Moms members say it’s never okay to use your child’s disability as an adjective, but I’m not so sure that’s true. In theory, I agree. I think we need to see people as a collection of their traits, not as defined by their deficits. I wonder though: Why is it okay to say I have a gifted child and not okay to say my child has high intelligence? Why is person first language only an issue when we’re talking about traits that might be perceived as negative?
Some of the worst news you can receive as a pregnant mom is that your baby isn't perfectly healthy. As the The Boston Globe reports, Mary Gundrum and her husband Mark were told just that at her 20-week ultrasound.
The Gundrums' son had an extremely rare disorder which was causing part of his brain to grown outside of his skull, and preventing the two halves of his face from coming together. His prospects weren't good: he could die before being born, live only a few hours after birth, or be severely disabled.
Devout Catholics and parents to seven other children, the Gundrums decided to continue the pregnancy. Thankfully, as Mary told ABC News, Dominic was born "screaming and kicking and full of life." Five months later, he underwent an extensive and difficult surgery, and at seven months of age he is now believed to be developing normally for his age.
Read the full story at The Boston Globe >>
Image Source: Aram Boghosian, Boston Globe
A waiter in Houston, Texas, is being celebrated for standing up for a 5-year-old with Down syndrome. During his shift earlier this week at Laurenzo's, a prime rib restaurant, Michael Garcia confronted a customer after he overheard him saying, "Special-needs children need to be special somewhere else."
"My personal feelings took over because that's ignorance in my opinion and I told him 'Sir, I won't be able to serve you,'" Garcia told Fox News.
Read the whole story (Fox News) >>
Have you ever had to take a stand to defend one of your kids?
Image Source: FoxNews
"Does anyone else out there have an extremely shy child?" asks Circle of Moms member Briana. She worries that her six-year-old daughter doesn’t want to do things that other kids her age do. "I can't figure out what to do to make her any less shy and want to join in," Briana frets.
It used to be that people assumed a shy child would outgrow her shyness. But a recent study by researchers at Vanderbilt University published in the February 2012 journal Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience suggests this isn't true. It seems shyness is a personality trait that is determined by the unique way a person’s brain gets used to the unfamiliar.
If shyness is a personality trait, is it possible to help your socially hesitant child become more involved and less on the sidelines? While you can’t change shy, there are some ways to approach and coach your child to accept new situations with a little more ease. Here I've rounded up five of them, as shared by Circle of Moms members.
1. Avoid Labeling Your Child
The more you tell your child or the people around her that she's "just shy" as a way to explain her behavior, the more likely it is that she'll believe something essential is wrong with her, says Alison S. Renowned pediatrician and parenting expert Dr. William Sears says that if you must describe your child’s behavior, try using more neutral words like "private" or "reserved."
2. Acknowledge Your Child's Discomfort
Your child knows she's not as outgoing as other kids and others know it, too, so there’s no point in pretending that it’s not true. Instead, says mom Megan H., "Just keep encouraging her that she is normal and not to worry so much about it."
3. Continue Introducing New Experiences
Sheltering a shy child from new experiences doesn’t help her learn how to cope with them, but nor does forcing her to jump right in. In fact, this approach can cause extreme anxiety. Keep to a middle ground, suggests several Circle of Moms members.
As Meyrha M. recommends, try staying with your child at birthday parties or sports practices until she's a little more comfortable. Judith B. didn’t push her son to join extracurricular activities, but did sign him up for language lessons to help him gain some independence.
4. Help Build Self-Esteem
Tara says it’s not her daughter’s shyness that bothers her as much as the concern that she will be a "follower" who's unable to stick up for herself. It’s a worry that many moms of shy children share, but it’s not insurmountable.
As parenting coach and RoundUp contributor Sharon Silver points out in her article, The Key to Building Your Child’s Self-Esteem, they key is to use specific praise to tell your child exactly what she's done well in a situation.
You can also help build a shy child's self esteen by setting up situations in which she is sure to succeed. For instance, a member named Tara has her child order her own drink and food at restaurants. She says this is helping her gain some independence and that she is gradually becoming less shy and more comfortable in unfmiliar situations.
5. Teach Basic Social Skills
For kids who are painfully shy, even the most basic social skills are difficult to manage. Go slow: start simply by expecting your child to look up when she's speaking to you, and to speak loud enough to be heard. Once she's comfortable doing so with you, you can ask her to apply these social skills when she's around familiar people.
As your shy child gets older, Alison S. suggests trying to put her in situations where she has to practice her social skills. Both Alison and another member, Rebecca P., have found that a drama class or club is a good place to start.
Shyness may be biological, but it doesn’t have to hem in your child's entire future. With a little understanding and support, she will find her way. It just might take a little bit longer.
Related Reading: Five Friendship Problems Kids Face and How to Help
Image Source: Tim Samoff via Flickr/Creative Commons
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, POPSUGAR.
It can be hard to pack a lunch when your child only eats a few things. Articles like 10 Easy, Healthy Lunchbox Ideas and A Week of Easy Lunch Menus provide a starting point, but moms of picky eaters need a little more help! Here are two suggestions for a new way to think about your eater, plus some lunch food alternatives.
Sort Out Why Your Child is Picky
Before setting up a lunch menu, Circle of Moms members suggest figuring out what kind of picky eater you have. Knowing that can help you make some decisions about how far you can push your child to try new foods.
Some kids, like Bernadette C.’s son, are "picky" because they have food allergies. Other kids, like Colleen B.’s son, have autism and are very fussy eaters due to sensory issues. These kids are reacting to things parents may not notice, like textures or strong smells.
Still other kids simply have a limited repertoire of foods they’re willing to try. They like what they like and they’re sticking to it. That’s the case with Aimee S.’ son. "He can be very stubborn and has been known to throw up things he doesn't like or want to try," she says.
What Foods Will (or Won’t) Your Child Eat?
The next thing to do is to really look at which foods are winners and which are losers for your child. This may not leave room for a lot of variety in your child’s lunchbox, but for many moms of picky eaters the goal isn’t variety– it’s getting your child to eat.
You might be surprised how helpful it can be to simply ask your child what she doesn’t like about lunch. That’s what happened to Circle of Moms member Kimberly S., who found out it’s the bread on sandwiches her kids don’t like. After this discovery, she started packing PB&J on crackers, or a cheese stick wrapped in lunch meat.
A number of other Circle of Moms members also say that their picky eaters don’t like sandwiches or lunch meat, but are willing to eat tortillas, bagels, pizza, and even cheese.
Lunch Ideas for Picky Eaters
The best advice Circle of Moms members give about packing a lunch for a picky eater is that you need to think outside the lunchbox. Here are some of their suggestions:
Most importantly, get your child involved in making lunch. If you make her part of the process, she will also become part of the solution.
Image Source: Howard Dickins via Flickr/Creative Commons
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, POPSUGAR.
